Arranged Marriage: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

An Arranged Marriage is, quite simply, the idea that someone is going to choose your spouse for you.

The idea of an arranged marriage is anathema to Westerners. "What happened to freedom," they ask, "and what happened to [[The Power of Love]], and [[True Love's Kiss]]? People should [[Marry for Love]]!" The answer is that this is one situation where it was better to be poor. It's easy to forget that history is by and large written only about the rich, and that in most countries well over 90% of the population were either peasants, slaves/serfs, or dirt-poor townsmen whose lives have for the most part been unexplored (or, in the past, deliberately ignored) by historians. These people didn't have arranged marriages because they had no reason to: they owned no property, titles, or status to hand down, they didn't need to make alliances, and they had no long-held traditions to uphold. The poor married for love or infatuation or to legitimize children (although often their form of marriage was what we would consider cohabitation), but this all happened well under the radar.

 

 

In most instances where a formal Arranged Marriage is introduced into a plot, it will become a source of tension ''and'' contention. Most people don't really want to marry a total stranger (much less have sex with them), and if that total stranger turns out to be a complete rogue and a cad, it may be necessary for the heroes to spring into action and rescue the hapless member of their group who is being forced to walk down the aisle. (Of course, being [[Big Damn Heroes]], they'll have to do so in [[Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace|the most overblown and dramatic way possible.]]) Sometimes, the person in the arranged marriage takes matters into their own hands and becomes a [[Runaway Fiance]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Among the reasons why [[Urusei Yatsura]]'s Ryuunosuke is sometimes considered the inspiration for Ranma (squabbling father and only child, vicious battles, gender confusion, father's a [[Abusive Parents|freaking maniac]]) is because she also has an Arranged Marriage made between her father and one of his own friends, and thusly a fiance she'd rather do without. In her case, though, she has to deal with a [[Loveable Sex Maniac]] [[Wholesome Crossdresser]] rather than a [[Covert Pervert]] [[Tsundere]].

* One of the subplots of ''[[Gankutsuou]]'': Eug?e de Danglars is initially arranged to marry Albert de Morcerf, but after a scandal in the Morcerf house, her father breaks the arrangement and makes a new one with Andrea Cavalcanti, to her horror.

** Then she messes things up again in ''Encore 2'' by trying to convince Mylene and Basara to marry while at the same time she sets up another ''omiai'' between Gamlin and Miho Miho, one of the [[Bridge Bunnies]]. Of course it's justified that {{spoiler|she thought she was dying at the time}}.

* When he becomes 30, the mother of Keitaro Sato arranges an ''omiai'' for him, to his big chagrin. Turns out the prospective bride is [[Ms. Fanservice|quite appealing to his tastes, and everyone's]]. And so, [[Happy Negative Marriage]] is born.

* Sayaka in ''[[Kaitou Saint Tail]]'' is trapped in an unhappy engagement that centers around [[MacGuffin|a veil]] belonging to the other family; if Saint Tail steals it and returns it to Sayaka's fiance, she'll be free to go. The only problem is that Sayaka has a tremendous crush on Asuka Jr. Meimi quickly helps the poor girl anyway, but the situation [[Slap Slap Kiss|muddles her feelings even more]].

* Present in the [[Hentai|Ero-OVA series]], ''[[Moonlight Lady]]'': it was originally arranged for Suzuna Kuraki to marry her [[Incest Is Relative|cousin]], Io Azuma. When he grew up to be a [[Ambiguously Gay|"total]] [[Bishounen|pretty boy"]] instead of a "[[Hunk]]", it was then decided that she would marry Kouichi Hayama.

**** [[Word of God]] says he bought them off with information about Britannia's new super-weapon, the [[Humongous Mecha|Knightmare Frame]]; still something that would have been cool to see, though.

*** In the ''[[Nightmare of Nunnally]]'', manga, Nunnally is set to marry Suzaku so that Genbu can become related to the royal family and have a place in the post-war administration of Japan.

* [[Evil Matriarch|Domyoji Kaede]], the main antagonist of ''[[Hana Yori Dango]]'', arranges for both of her children to marry the children of wealthy entrepreneurs in order to acquire their companies for the family's vast corporate empire. When her children Tsubaki and Tsukasa prove to be unwilling, she resorts to [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|less than ethical]] means to browbeat them into it with mixed success.

* Konoka Konoe in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' is usually in an Arranged Marriage of some kind, set up by her grandfather. This causes her great annoyance since most of the suitors she's set up with tend to be somewhere around ''twice her age or older''. She generally either turns them all down without a look or [[Rebellious Princess|runs away and hides till they're over]].

* Appreantly, the parents of Miyabi "Professor" Oomichi of ''[[GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class]]'' already arranged her a husband--despite she's only a tenth grader. A later chapter showed that she {{spoiler|was not particularly pleased with that, and was glad that the ''omiai'' was delayed}}.

* ''[[Rose of Versailles]]'' covers arranged marriages from several angles: [[Marie Antoinette]] and Louis XVI wind up kinda ok, little Charlotte... not so much.

* ''[[Otoyomegatari]]'' starts with one between the two main characters. They get along pretty well despite the fact she's from another culture, making her a [[Tomboy]] compared to the other women, and there being an eight year age gap between them (she' 20, he's 12).

** Nagi and Wataru are arranged to be married, presumably for the Sanzenin fortune. While Nagi and Wataru are antagonistic to the idea, both are 13, and show signs that there are the beginnings of love between them, hinting that they might not be entirely opposed.

*** {{spoiler|Since Nagi no longer will be the inheritor of the Sanzenin fortune, whether it still stands at all hasn't been touched on.}}

** Saki and Kaoru are set up on a omiai by their families. Both admit to being interested in other people, so nothing comes of this.

* In ''[[Fairy Tail]]'', {{spoiler|this turns out to be the cause of the events in the Phantom arc, as Lucy's father hired Phantom to bring her back home just so he could have her take part in one of these. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|However, Lucy did come back...to tell him where he could stick it.]]}}

* In the Amagai filler arc of [[Bleach]], Lurichiyo, the heir to the Kasumioji clan, is set to mary Shun. One of her friends has a similar arrangement, which she is not very happy about, and arranges to meet Lurichiyo and her other friends one last time before she's married.

* Childhood friends Wako and Sugata are in an arranged marriage in ''[[Star Driver]]''.

* The plot of ''[[Flower Flower]]'' revolves around a princess arriving in a country to be arranged to a prince only to reject him as he's a [[Wholesome Crossdresser]]. She chooses his younger sibling instead, unaware that she's marrying another woman.

* Jenny Doolittle of ''[[Bodacious Space Pirates]]'' is set up in an arranged marriage, as much to prevent her from gaining control of her family's shipping firm as to solidify an alliance. [[Runaway Bride|She shoots her way out of it]], then hires the ''Bentenmaru'' to get her to safety.

== Comics ==

* Starfire (Princess Koriand'r) of DC Comics has twice been married to men from her home planet and both times she went through with the marriages to satisfy family and political obligations. The first time this happened, Starfire was romantically involved with [[Nightwing|Robin (Dick Grayson)]] and she didn't understand why Grayson was so upset. She said that in her culture, marriage was merely a social obligation; she did not believe that her marriage to another man should interfere with her romantic relationship with Grayson.

* In ''[[Usagi Yojimbo (Comic Book)|Usagi Yojimbo]]'', the series' premiere [[Action Girl]], Tomoe Ame, is currently roped into an arranged marriage engagement by her young lord who gets talked into by a villainous adviser on the idea that she should be happy. Whether that kid will realize that he should have had the simple logic and decency to ask if she wanted it (she does not, but is too loyal a proper samurai to protest) is unanswered for now.

* In the recent ''[[Secret Invasion]]: [[The Inhumans]]'' storyline, the Inhuman Queen Medusa needs an alliance with Ronan, the ruler of the Kree Empire. He demands Medusa's sister Crystal as his bride. Over Crystal's objections, Medusa agrees.

* In ''Scion'', {{spoiler|King Dane arranges for his daughter Ylena to marry King Bron in order to end the war between the kingdoms. What no one knows, however, is that "Dane" is actually Mai Shen in disguise and the real Dane has been abducted}}.

* In the shortlived [[Furry Fandom|Furry]] series, ''Tales of the Fennick'', the series began with a prologue story with a mother telling her story to her children about how as a girl she was being maneuvered for an arranged marriage by her parents who were losing patience with her continually and defiantly exercising her lawful right to refuse the beaus they are offering. However, she found her last beau is actually no more enthusiastic at their meeting than herself. However, a combination of the boy showing that he is a genuinely kind and charming fellow and the chance meetings with gossipy friends who assume they are engaged puts them in an awkward position as they are both growing to like each other. In response, make a secret pact to stall any wedding plans by pretending to have a ''long'' engagement so their friends and family will leave them alone. As it is, the mother admits to her daughter that this was simply a mutual rationalization to allow them both to submit to social expectations while feeling that they have some free choice in the matter since they married in the long run. At this, the young daughter playfully declares she is not going to marry, but become a soldier like her father. The mother humors her about this in the prologue story, but in the series proper, the mother is shocked to learn that her now adult daughter is now an even more strong willed, if more quietly defiant, girl than herself who is still serious about following through on that intention and imitating her mother's self-deceptions is ''not'' going to be enough for her.

 

== [[Fan Fiction]] ==

** Also sometimes used, somewhat more justifiably, for pureblood/pureblood marriages like Lucius and Narcissa's.

*** One example of this is [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5316729/1/Honour_Amongst_Snakes Honour Amongst Snakes], which turned into a [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage]].

** Some fans tend to believe that the higher class Hobbit families (mainly Brandybuck and Took) marry through arrangements, which is a good way of adding fanfic drama. This belief seems to come from the fact that Merry is an only child, Pippin has three older sisters and no brothers, and only one child of his own (a son), which could suggest that the parents simply get separate bedrooms once an heir has been born. There is, however, no indication in Tolkien's work that this is actually the case.

* In ''Sweeney Todd'' fanfiction (yes, it exists), Benjamin and Lucy Barker are sometimes said to have had an arranged marriage, which is odd as (a) arranged marriages were nearly kaput by the nineteenth century, (b) it seems unlikely that Lucy's parents would aim no higher than a barber, and (c) the way the man who used to be Benjamin remembers Lucy gives every indication of it having been a love match. Of course, the arranged marriage is often used to undermine their marriage in a case of [[Die for Our Ship]].

** Confirmed, and Kyon and Tsuruya now realize. They're not too happy.

*** Unlike most examples however, the main reason they are not happy is that they both realize what will happen when {{spoiler|[[Reality Warper|Haruhi]]}} finds out. Turns out, she isn't near as angry as they thought she would be and {{spoiler|Kyon and Tsuruya}} come to terms with their engagement.

** Schneizel was also supposed to marry a European (what specifically, not noted) noble, but he keeps putting it off because he knew there would be no real point to it as Britannia was going to attack the EU eventually.

 

 

* ''[[Fiddler On the Roof]]'' took place in an early 20th century Slavic Jewish community where Old Traditions (Arranged Marriage) were rapidly clashing with New Ideas (marrying for love). The practice was to keep marriages within the Jewish community, but the musical points out that this is why the system fails.

** Tevye and Golde's duet ''Do You Love Me?'' addresses the belief that an arranged marriage can ripen into love, while ''Matchmaker'', sung by the daughters, addresses both the pros and cons of arranged marriages.

* Pick a [[Bollywood]] movie. Any Bollywood movie.

** Yes, but arranged marriages have been common in India for centuries now, and it's only recently that Indian parents are moving away from this. That said, most couples still need parental permission. In some of the movies, this is actually subverted, as some have them get married by arrangement first and fall in love later.

*** ...And, since "marriage first, love later" is how an Arranged Marriage is ''supposed'' to work, those "subversions" are actually playing the trope straight. (It's only us Westerners, with our blind assumption that love ''has'' to come first, who [[Values Dissonance|see it as a subversion]].)

** In the direct-to-video sequel, ''Mulan II'', she and her friends are given an [[Escort Mission]] to conduct three princesses to their intendeds.

** At odds with Western ideals, the girls don't object to their arranged marriages, though they all end up in conventional romances and (presumably) marry for love.

* In Masaki Kobayashi's ''[[Samurai Rebellion]]'', the son of a prominent samurai is ordered by his daimyo to marry a concubine who has fallen from favor. At first, he objects, but as in some of the other examples on this page, the couple eventually find happiness. Later, the daimyo's primary heir dies and he demands the concubine back. The samurai (played by [[Toshiro Mifune]]) refuses, as he wants his son to have the happiness he was denied in his own loveless Arranged Marriage. This ends [[Downer Ending|about as well as you'd expect]].

* In ''[[The Karate Kid]] II'', it's revealed that Mr. Miyagi left Okinawa so he wouldn't have to fight his best friend over his friend's bride-to-be, with whom he'd fallen in love. Miyagi discovers that his first love has refused her family's arrangement and remained single, awaiting his return. Now if he'd just left an address, she could have written and told him so saving them both a lot of time. (Of course, one scene in the first movie indicates that Miyagi was a widower, so that might not have worked...)

* ''[[Monty Python and The Holy Grail]]'' features an attempted arranged marriage between a noble's son and a maiden with "[[Unusual Euphemism|huge...tracts of land]]." When the son protests he'd "rather...just...sing," his father attempts to substitute Sir Lancelot, who arrives on the scene believing he's rescuing a beautiful girl instead of the son.

* Many of the works of [[Yasujiro Ozu]], considered to be one of the three undisputed masters of Japanese Cinema, deal with this, including his famed "Noriko" trilogy: ''[[Late Spring]]'', ''[[Early Summer]]'', ''[[Tokyo Story]]''.

* The 2004 Czech film, ''Želary'', puts an interesting spin on this trope. The main character, [[City Mouse|Eliska]], works for an [[La Résistance|underground resistance movement]] in the Nazi-occupied city of Prague, Czechoslovakia. When her conspirators are captured, the resistance sends her to a remote mountain village with a new identity to hide from the Gestapo. To keep her under the radar, she is ordered to marry one of the local farmers to avoid attracting attention. She is understandably pissed off about this arrangement and acts coldly towards her intended. Of course, the man she marries is quiet, kind and chivalrous, so there's only [[Undercover As Lovers|so many directions]] [[Will They or Won't They?|that their relationship]] [[Love Epiphany|could go]].

* This trope is the entire driving force behind the plot of [[Eddie Murphy]] comedy ''[[Coming to America]]''. Finding that his parents have arranged for him to marry a hopelessly servile young woman who has been trained all her life to mindlessly obey him, Prince Akeem devises a scheme to travel to the United States (under the pretense of "sowing his royal oats") and find a bride who will love him for who he is and not for his royal status.

* In ''[[Alpha and Omega]]'', Kate is to be married to Garth, to prevent war between rival packs. That plan is disrupted when she and her omega friend, Humphrey, are darted and relocated to a distant American park. As the pair struggle to get back to Jasper, Garth inadvertently falls for Kate's omega sister and thus both are in an awkward situation when Kate returns. Even though both confess their true feelings with Lily's sister perfectly willing to substitute for Kate, the packs don't accept this and go to war that sparks a caribou stampede that threatens the pack leaders, but Kate and Humphrey's rescue of them convince them to change their minds.

* In ''[[East Is East]]'', it's George's repeated attempts to arrange marriages for his British-born sons that finally causes their [[Culture Clash]] relationship to boil over.

 

 

== Literature ==

* There are vast numbers of historical romance novels built around this plot.

* Jelka Tolonen in David Wingrove's ''[[Chung Kuo]]'' series has been arranged to marry the son of her father's life-long friend

* In David Eddings' ''[[Belgariad]]'', the Accords of Vo Mimbre degree that an Imperial Princess shall marry the [[The Chosen One|lost heir of Riva]] when he finally returns as prophesied, a prophecy the secular Tolnedrans don't believe in. Centuries later Princess Ce'Nedra finds out that she's going to get stuck with the bill, which just came due. Fortunately, the two kids eventually fall in love anyway.

** Very fortunately, since Ce'nedra has accepted that she's not going to get to choose who she marries. In a rather moving explanation, she says essentially "I'm an Imperial Princess, an asset of the House of Borune. I won't get to choose my husband, I'll be married where I can best serve the House. I've known this all my life."

** ''[[Celydonn|The Grail and the Ring]]'': Princess Tinne was forced into marrying one of the Sons of the Boar (who faked an omen to pressure her into agreeing to it).

** ''[[Celydonn|The Moon and the Thorn]]'', Lord Macsen makes it a condition of his support that Mahaffy Guillyn marry his daughter Tiffanwy.

** In the ''Farseer'' trilogy, Verity, the second son of the ruler of the Six Duchies, has an Arranged Marriage with the only daughter of the ruler of the Mountain Kingdom. The arrangement gets off to a very bad start.

** The sequel trilogy ''The Tawny Man'' features another Arranged Marriage {{spoiler|between Verity's son Dutiful and Elliania of the Outislands}}.

*** Both of those marriages actually [[Happily Ever After|turn out quite well]], actually. A more realistic instance is the web of custom relating to marriage-based alliances among the Bingtown and Rain Wild Traders, who often pressure their children to make advantageous matches. Though no main character is ever involved in one, several are threatened with the possibility on occasion.

* In William King's [[Warhammer 40000]] [[Space Wolf]] novel ''Wolfblade'', Ragnar is told how the Navigators marry: to whom they are told to marry.

* In the ''[[Liaden Universe]]'' books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, aligned clans Korval and Erob trade off having members of their clans marry each other every other generation or so. Val Con was technically one of those promised to marry someone of Erob. However, he disappears for many years and ends up marrying on his own an [[Action Girl|ex-mercenary]] he meets on another world altogether. As it turned out, her grandmother is a lost member of Clan Erob, who shipwrecked while pregnant and never returned home. It's pointed out that had Val Con known he was doing what he was "supposed" to do, he certainly wouldn't have done it!

** In that same book, Queen Susan the Gentle and her younger brother King Edmund the Just travel to Tashbaan (the capital of a neighboring kingdom) to consider an offer of marriage to Susan from Crown Prince Rabadash. She ultimately doesn't want to marry the Prince, [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|having seen his true colors]], but Rabadash [[Scarpia Ultimatum|plots to force her go through with it anyway]]. They escape back to Narnia, and when Rabadash attempts to seize her by force he ends up failing [[Humiliation Conga|in the most humiliating way possible]].

** Also, when Aravis ends up in Tashbaan she meets up with [[Tomboy and Girly Girl|her best friend]] [[The Brainless Beauty|Lasaraleen]], who has already married a wealthy nobleman and it's hinted it was an Arranged Marriage as well. Unlike Aravis, though, Lasaraleen doesn't seem to mind.

** {{spoiler|End badly? I'll say - all three men are dead by the end of the first book...}}

** Considering much of the plot involves lords and kings squabbling over territory and alliances, this is used constantly as a plot device, with varying degrees of cooperation from the individuals involved.

** It should be noted that ''any'' marriage agreement, instigated for any reason whatsoever, will find a path to lead directly to bloodshed. Backing out and sending the other party into a tiff, calling the heirs' legitimacy into question through sneaking around, sitting next to your wife just in time for the [[Gambit Roulette]] wheel to clunk into place... The only exception is Ned and Catelyn...except for the little fact that Catelyn's other suitor was [[Magnificent Bastard|Petyr Baelish.]]

* Rhian's proposed marriage to Lord Rolf in Karen Miller's ''[[Godspeaker Trilogy]]'', which just allows the High Priest Marlan to run the kingdom by proxy. Rhian, of course, [[Runaway Fiance|has other ideas]].

* In [[Andre Norton]]'s ''[[Witch World]]'' series, [[Arranged Marriage|Arranged Marriages]] are the norm for the nobles of High Hallack. The parties are married by proxy when one or both are young children; they may not meet until it is time for them to begin living together, usually when the younger member of the pair is about sixteen.

** ''The Crystal Gryphon'': Kerovan's marriage with Joisan is arranged at the beginning of the book, when they are both children; his father wants to safeguard Kerovan's position and make it clear that his son ''will'' be his heir, while her family has received a prophecy that the wedding is necessary for Joisan's future. Incidentally, it is made clear, after one of Joisan's cousins falls in love with her when she is grown, that while the right of bride refusal exists (so that Joisan could refuse to complete the contract), that exercising such a right invariably brings about a blood feud between the families involved, so in practice it is not used. Joisan is very angry when accused of encouraging the cousin.

** ''Year of the Unicorn'': the terms of the Were Riders' treaty with the Dalesmen in the Invaders' War was that in exchange for their help, they would receive thirteen brides of noble birth, to be delivered at the beginning of the Year of the Unicorn. One of the girls volunteered, since various powerful lords would be obligated to help her family afterward, but none of the other girls had a choice.

** ''The Devil's Novice'': Meriet Aspley's elder brother is about to conclude an Arranged Marriage contract with a neighbouring landowner's daughter, with the ceremony taking place late in the book (since it provides an excellent means of putting all the suspects in one place). Fortunately, Meriet's brother and the girl are in love.

** ''An Excellent Mystery'': Brother Humilis arranged a marriage for himself with a very young girl prior to going on Crusade, since he knew he'd be gone for years and wanted to have children. However, when he returned, he entered a monastery rather than completing the contract. She then supposedly entered a convent; the plot is set in motion when it is realized that she never arrived at the convent.

** The fact that Nikolai ends up with the wealthy Maria would indicate that he ultimately chose the latter; however, there ''was'' an attraction between them from their first meeting, and the [[Distant Finale]] portrays him as honestly in love with her. It is of course perfectly possible to fall in love with a 'Good' match.

* Nearly every marriage in Lin Yutang's ''[[Moment in Peking]]'' is arranged.

** In Wrede's ''The Seven Towers'', Prince Eltiron's domineering father betroths him to Princess Crystalorn from a neighboring kingdom. Both characters are horrified by the idea, but once they meet and survive the book's plot together, they rapidly slide into a [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage]].

* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|A Princess of Mars]]'', having captured Dejah Thoris, the Jeddak of Zodanga insists on her marrying his son as the price of peace with Helium. Her grandfather rejects it.

** This cultural ambiguity is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by Judge Dee's own household. His marriage to his First Lady was arranged; his marriages to his Second and Third were not.

* The book ''Serving Crazy With Curry'' presents two more modern approaches to this trope- a) the protagonist's older sister asks her parents to arrange a match when she becomes disenchanted with dating (the resulting match is less than successful), and b) the protagonist's grandmother decides to help her by finding some appropriate Indian men to present to her.

** ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'': Lady Catherine claims she and her sister privately arranged a marriage between her daughter Anne and her nephew Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth scoffs at the plan (or at least, at Lady Catherine's undying reliance on it), and Mr. Darcy is never shown taking it seriously.

*** Elizabeth takes it seriously when she first hears about the engagement early in the book, believing it to be the reason for Darcy's indifference to Caroline Bingley. It's only revealed as a [[MacGuffin]] with Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth (showing he'll marry whomever he wants), hence her indifferent response to Lady Catherine's warning at the end. (Most movie versions [[Adaptation Distillation|leave the earlier reveal out]].)

* Judith, the teenaged protagonist of the young adult novel ''The Minstrel's Tale'', is forced into one of these by her stepfather. Not only is she deeply put off by her bridegroom, who is at least thirty years her senior, but on the night of their betrothal dinner she falls in love with the young minstrel who comes to play and sing for them. So she [[Runaway Fiance|runs away]].

* [[Vorkosigan Saga|Aral Vorkosigan's]] first marriage, mentioned a few times in the books, was arranged. It did not turn out well.

{{quote| ''"Would you make me your king?" he asked sardonically.<br />

"Well, there are customs-" she stammered, and he interrupted her with a hard laugh.<br />

"Yes, civilized customs that won't let you do as you wish. You'll marry some withered old king of the plains, and I can go my way with only the memory of a few kisses snatched from your lips. Ha!"'' }}

* In ''[[The Alien Series|Alien Tango]]'' Kitty learns Martini is betrothed in one of these, not that he or his arranged bride ever agreed.

* The novel ''[[Starcraft]] Ghost: Nova'' reveals that the Old Families of the [[The Empire|Terran Confederacy]] were, pretty much, aristocracy. Nova's parents had no love for each other and married only because their families wished to merge their fortunes. The marriage contract allowed each partner to have a live-in lover, as long as no children were produced out-of-wedlock. In fact, Nova treated her father's mistress almost like a big sister and she was on good terms with her mother's jig. Other contract clauses include the distribution of power and responsibility. Nova's father is in charge of all business decisions, while his wife controls anything related to the family. Attempts by either party to infringe into the other's "area of influence" is grounds for divorce.

* In the ''[[Dragon Jousters]]'' series by [[Mercedes Lackey]], arranged marriage is common among nobles, but required for Altan monarchs -- the oldest pair of male twins among the royal clans ''must'' marry the oldest set of female twins among the royal clans. Kaleth and Marit fall deeply in love with each other, but Toreth and Nofret ... well, Toreth states openly that he would never interfere with Nofret seeking pleasure elsewhere, and sees no reason why she would interfere with his pleasures. Part of the Magis' plans to take over Alta involve establishing themselves as a fake royal clan, declaring two of their members twins, and forcing a marriage between them and Marit/Nofret once Toreth is murdered and Kaleth disgraced.

* This is the entire concept of the book ''Matched''. The government chooses your job and who you marry, and you're not supposed to refuse (though sometimes the couples don't work out and are allowed to be rematched, IIRC)

* In the ''[[Hex Hall]]'' series a witch is betrothed on her thirteenth birthday. Sophie's father arranged her engagment without ever having met her and without telling her that she was engaged never mind who to. However it's established that it's done more out of tradition than anything else as either party can say no.

* Used somewhat oddly in ''[[Chronicles of Amber]]'', where Corwin's brother Random is forced to marry a woman in punishment for having seduced and eloped with Queen Moire's daughter, who later committed suicide. Moire explains that the girl, being blind, has no suitors, and would gain great rank from marrying a Prince of Amber...and would eventually recover from whatever harm he did her. To everyone's surprise, it turns out to be a [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage]] instead.

* Camille and his cousin Thérèse in ''[[Therese Raquin]]''. It was his mother's idea, and Mme. Raquin is the only one who's particularly happy about her brilliant plan.

* In ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the villainous forced version almost happens to Lúthien, the princess of Doriath. She and Beren are in the middle of their quest to try to fulfill her father's ironic, impossible [[Engagement Challenge]]: steal a Silmaril from [[Hell|Angband]]. Celegorm and Curufin, ruthless elven princes determined to get the Silmarils for themselves at any cost, kidnap Lúthien and try to force her father to "give" her to Celegorm. Fortunately, {{spoiler|Celegorm's awesome dog, Huan, helps her escape.}}

* In ''Altraterra'' series by Yvonne Pioch, Anne, a 14-years-old girl, is forced by the Magical Academy to marry Miraz, her brother's teacher. Notably because unlike many other works, which relegate the consequences to [[Fridge Horror]] territory, here it is explicitly stated that the sole purpose of said marriage is to produce a male heir, and as soon as possible. Since Anne has a crush on Miraz, she willingly agrees. {{spoiler|then her brother, who made a [[Face Heel Turn]], intevenes...}}

* In [[Enchantress From the Stars]] Evrek is clearly Elana's designated fiance. The chemistry between them is ... less then stellar.

 

 

== Live Action TV ==

* In a recent episode of ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'', a man offers his daughter's hand in marriage as a bet in a dim sum poker game.

** And loses. Of course, his opponent was cheating...

* In the [[Power Rangers RPM]] two-parter "Ranger Yellow," the Yellow Ranger is coerced into an arranged marriage by her filthy-rich parents. The marriage was decided on when she was five, and they probably would've let her decline had the Venjix computer virus not nearly wiped out humanity, leaving her parents with only enough money to pretend to be filthy rich until she married someone who was still rich.

** Used in [[Super Sentai]] by [[Juken Sentai Gekiranger|Gekiranger]] a couple of years earlier. [[Ran/Geki Yellow|Geki Yellow]] is taken to an ''omiai'' of the modern variety. Not wanting to break up the team (or lose the only female member in Ken's case) the guys attempt several [[Zany Scheme|plans]] that backfire rather spectacularly. The situation is eventually resolved when Ran convinces her mother that her responsibility as [[Geki Yellow]] is more important.

* In ''[[Rome]]'' Vorenus and Niobe have a discussing with their eldest daughter about arranging a marriage between her and a senator, and she doesn't seem to object. The parents point to themselves as an example of loving married couples, with Niobe adding "strange marriage it would be if you loved them from the start" as if the idea was completely foreign to her.

** Season two also has Posca marrying Jocasta, courtesy of Atia's arrangements. Jocasta is upset and cries through the ceremony, but they end up becoming one of the most loving couples in the entire show.

*** The crying was probably mostly about her entire family having been murdered only slightly before. Not that she was very thrilled about the marriage either, as it was direct result of the aforementioned event.

* Divya of ''[[Royal Pains]]'' is drifting towards accepting her arranged marriage to a childhood friend. At the beginning, she tried to call it off, but when the engagement ceremony came around, she couldn't bring herself to do it. However, it's not like she ''couldn't'' call it off or she hates the guy (he's kind of clueless and cheerful, actually); she's simply not certain she should be ''married'' to him. Meanwhile, [[Casanova Wannabe|Evan]] keeps hoping....

** So he's handsome, rich, nice and she likes him a lot, and he wants to marry her but she is ''not'' certain she should marry him? [[What an Idiot!]]. On the other hand if she has feelings for Evan....

* In ''[[Babylon 5]]'', the Centauri have Arranged Marriages of the forced variety. This results in a culture that believes weddings should be somber affairs with tears and recrimination, while funerals are joyous affairs. To celebrate a wedding is seen as bad luck.

* An episode of ''[[Chuck]]'' includes a sub-plot where Lester (an Indian Jew) is pressured to marry a girl from his hometown. When he tells it to Big Mike, Big Mike assumes this is because he is Indian. However, Lester's parents are from Saskatchewan, Canada. Apparently, their culture is a mix of Canadian, Jewish, and Indian culture, which is shown when Lester sets up a "traditional" den at the Buy More, which is a mix of both cultures, with Lester himself wearing an Indian robe and a fur hat. The girl is also from a Canadian-Jewish-Indian "Hinjew" family, whose parents are pressuring her to marry Lester. She is initially put off by his "traditional" exhibit, but he reveals that he just did this to impress her. She warms to him a little... until he puts her on the spot and sings to her. Embarassed, she leaves, calling off the wedding.

{{quote| '''Queen Anne:''' A state marriage is like a state dinner: you might not like the menu, but it's impolite to show it.<br />

'''Cardinal Mazarin:''' If you would, think of Louis as... [[Unusual Euphemism|asparagus]].<br />

'''Queen Anne:''' Eat your vegetables in public, dear, but have your dessert in private. }}

* Practically all marriages featured on ''[[The Borgias]]'' are based on political alliances (this is [[Truth in Television]] for the time period, of course), with poor Lucrezia being saddled with a [[Domestic Abuser|violent]] [[Marital Rape License|rapist]], and thirteen-year-old Gioffre having to marry [[The Vamp|Sancia of Naples]] - a woman about twice his age, who sees nothing wrong with screwing Gioffre's older brother Juan mere minutes before [[Squick|consummating her marriage with Gioffre]] himself.

* In ''[[Downton Abbey]]'', Patrick and Mary pre-series one.

 

** Aphrodite and Ares (illegitimate) daughter Harmonia was given away in an arranged marriage to the mortal Cadmus. Apparently they were happy but what happened to their kids!

* According to Christian martyrology, in order to escape an arranged marriage to an pagan king, a princess named Wilgefortis pleaded to God to make her repulsive in appearance so she could remain unmarried and keep her vow of virginity. Soon she grew a beard, utterly repulsing the suitor who called the arrangement off. For this, her evil father had her crucified. With time, Wilgefortis was canonized and became the patron saint for women trapped in abusive marriages.

 

 

That sees into the bottom of my grief?<br />

O sweet my mother, cast me not away!'' }}

* ''[[Fiddler On the Roof]]'' discusses this as a tradition; the original books suggested that it was a good idea, while the musical adaptation was more neutral on the subject. {{spoiler|Each of Tevye's teenage daughters ultimately ended up with the man she wanted, but each suffered the consequences: Tzeitel lives in abject poverty with Motel, rather than the relative comfort she would have had with Lazar Wolf; Hodel winds up in Siberia and Chava is disowned.}}

* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]:

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Go through Mitsuru's Social Link for enough time in ''[[Persona 3]]'' and you'll discover that, to stabilize the Kirijo Group after {{spoiler|her father's death}}, the board of directors has arranged for her to marry a much older man. She seems to have accepted it, but (judging by the proper answers to the dialogue prompts) the main character isn't fooled.

* Kaori in ''[[Crescendo]]'' intended to go through with an ''omiai'' arranged marriage (and presumably does so offscreen on the occasions when the player fails to achieve her good ending, or chooses a different path)

* ''[[Imperium Nova]]'' allows you to arrange marriages between members of your house and those from others. The lower status house gains status from the marriage and the higher status house often loses status but dowrys can be offered to soften the blow. It also decreases feud score.

** [[The Starscream|Arl Howe]] tries to set one up between the Human Male Warden and his daughter Delilah (or a Human Female Warden and his son Thomas) in the Noble Origin, but seeing how the story turns out, it never comes to pass. Then, in ''Awakening'', you actually meet Delilah, who wasn't at all pleased about being set up with the Male Warden, and has since married a commoner in Amaranthine, with a child on the way.

* In ''[[SaGa 2|Final Fantasy Legend II / SaGa 2]]'', the New God Venus arranges the marriage between Nills (Julius in Japan) and Flora (Olivia), despite the later's relationship with Leon (Anthony) whom Venus has banished from her city due to his damaged leg. It's up to the protagonists to stop the marriage from taking place.

 

 

* [[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]: In Elven society pre-marital courtship consists of an elaborate system of blackmail and counterblackmail. And that's mild compared to what went on a few centuries earlier.

* The first story arc of ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'' involved a [[Squick|squicky]] forced political marriage between [[Green-Skinned Space Babe]] Princess Voluptua and [[Starfish Aliens|Starfish Alien]] Ahem.

* ''[[The Spirit Engine 2]]'' has Ferwin, caught in the traditional business-pact-marriage. It's complicated further by the fact that there's ''another'' woman who he does love, and wants to marry her instead. This causes him to become a [[Runaway Fiancee]].

* Rabbit society in ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'' is fond of this trope. Kevin was supposed to have married who would be his rival in the school board elections, Fran Caudal, but Fran's parents called it off because Kevin had no fear (and therefore abnormal in their eyes).

*** And Quinn's parents, who were ''very'' enthusiastic about the marriage (to the point of putting in quill-proof rubber walls in anticipation of children) vowed to force a divorce between Quinn and Rhonda until Rhonda defended them against her jilted ex-boyfriend.

** Long ago, the marriage of George and Martha Fennec had been one of these, done to add some diversity to their respective gene pools. Except they hated each other, and eventually divorced when they caught each other cheating.

* {{spoiler|Wildy}} of [[DMFA]] is [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1169.php due to be married] to one of five possible candidates, they seem relatively okay with this.

* In ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'', Glon has to marry three orc ladies for political reasons when his mother is crowned Queen of Black Mountain. At first, he loathes the idea, but he soon grows to like them. The situation is not quite [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage|Perfectly Arranged Marriages]], but Glon does enjoy their company, turning to them for advice and taking one of his wives along on at least one adventure.

* In ''[[Erstwhile]]'', [http://www.erstwhiletales.com/maidmaleen-13/#.T294lNm6SuI the king persuades the prince to agree to one of these.] [[You Have Waited Long Enough|After all, it's been seven years.]] He agrees and hopes the bride will manage to make him forget his lost love.

 

 

== Web Original ==

 

 

== Western Animation ==

** [[Word of God]] says Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa were also an arranged marriage. Which might hint that Zuko and Mai may have been arranged for each other early on as well, although they're so genuinely in love with each other (even blushing around each other as children) that it doesn't really matter anyway.

** Sokka and Katara's grandmother, Kanna, was once arranged to be married to the bitter and misogynistic Waterbending Master Pakku (who did saw her as the "love of his life"). She ran away from the Northern to the Southern Tribe to avoid him and the Northern Tribe's traditions. It appears to have been the latter that was the problem, however, because months after Pakku - having had a change of heart after meeting Katara - travelled to the Southern Tribe, he had married Kanna, this time in mutual love.

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' where Sam is stuck in an arranged marriage with the ghostly [[The Evil Prince|Prince Aragon]] after his sister spent half the episode finding the perfect [[Interspecies Romance|human bride]].

* [[Disney Animated Canon]]:

** In ''[[The Lion King]]'', Simba and Nala are betrothed, much to their confusion ("I can't marry her -- she's my friend!" "Yeah, it'd be so weird..").

*** They eventually get their own [["Falling in Love" Montage]].

* In ''[[The Swan Princess]]'', Derek and Odette are betrothed as children by their parents, and forced to spent every summer together. This leads to a musical montage of them growing up hating each other, until one summer (having grown up), they realise that they've actually fallen in love.

* An episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' followed Apu attempting to dodge an arranged marriage by [[The Beard|claiming to already be married]]. After sufficient hilarity ensues, the ruse is discovered and the wedding goes forward over Apu's objections. However, his bride Manjula turns out to be a good match for him, and they remained happily married until they had 8 kids. Their marriage pretty much derailed from there.

** Based on a story in [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|the original comics]], in which she actually does go through with it. The husband would later die.

* Another arranged hook-up that actually worked out was between Princess Layla and Nabu on ''[[Winx Club]]''. The circumstances are similar to that in the ''Sleeping Beauty'' example: When Layla sees Nabu for the first time, she doesn't know it's him, and he doesn't tell her that he is either. (Doesn't stop Layla from being p-o'd at him, which [[Ungvichian|makes me wonder]] why they even bothered with the ruse.)

* Among certain segments of society, they're still common even in Western countries. For example, Orthodox Jewish couples still largely meet via the services of a matchmaker, though websites such as [http://www.sawyouatsinai.com Saw You At Sinai] are trying to streamline the process. However, only the most conservative Hasidic families still practice the most extreme version of this trope; most will meet via a matchmaker but date for a month or two before deciding whether or not to marry. The combination of formality and desire to marry someone "compatible" has resulted in the infamous "[[wikipedia:Shidduch|shidduch problem]]" amongst Western Orthodox families whereby many singles remain single out of the inability to really find someone they connect to using this system.

* The [[wikipedia:Unification Church#Sex and marriage|Unification Church]] ("Moonies"): all the marriages amongst the flock are arranged by Reverend Moon.

 

{{reflist}}